Brethren, yesterday I received an email from a brother in Christ. He asked me if I had heard about the bill introduced in Israel to outlaw teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had not heard about this and we were both eager to vet it.
I have a friend from Israel who is an elder in a Messianic congregation. I wrote to him and asked if this was true.
Here is his response:
Hello Geri,
Yes, this is true. I read the law proposal in Hebrew and it definitely is intended to stop the believers in Jesus from sharing their faith in any form, including electronically. Which is why I think it can’t pass.
Say I’m not allowed to give out literature on the street. OK. Can I wear a T-Shirt with Yeshua on it? or Isaiah 53? In court, can I not say it’s my favourite T Shirt with my favourtie chapter?
And say you uploaded something in English on YouTube intended at Israelis, is this not allowed? Will they ban it on YouTube?
OK, so say I uploaded in English from the US, intended at Israelis – I’m not violating US law, am I? I know people who came to faith through English videos not intended for Israelis at all. Or, say I did it in Hebrew, from the US, would that be illegal?… you see the complications?
What if I did it in Israel, but I’m not violating YouTube US laws. Or, how can they prove I did it in Israel and not in the US. Say I wore a cross, and people asked me “I thought you were Jewish – why the cross” and I said I believe in Jesus and THEY started asking me questions – would I get arrested? I only wore a cross and answered questions.
You know how many conversations I’ve had just because people saw me read my Bible somewhere? Electronically would mean you mustn’t evangelise on a website. Are all Israeli believers to now immediately go to their websites and remove anything that might promote the faith? Nonsense. I think it’s too complicated and that it won’t pass.
But if it DOES pass, it won’t stop any of those who actively engage in Evangelism from continuing. It might even help the gospel in some way. But it will give plenty for Israelis to report about to supporters oversees 😉
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Is it possible that the Israeli government this year could pass legislation making it illegal for people to share the Gospel message in the very land where Jesus was born, raised, preached, died, buried and rose from the dead?
Unfortunately, yes.
As Palm Sunday and Easter approach – the two most sacred days on the calendar for those who follow Jesus as both God and Messiah – two members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) introduced a bill last week that would ban any and all efforts to tell people about Jesus.
The bill would send violators to prison.
[…] The proposed legislation would outlaw all efforts by people of one faith who, in any way, want to discuss or try to persuade people of other faiths to consider changing their current religious beliefs.
The punishment for doing so would be “one year imprisonment.”
If the conversation is with minor – someone under the age of 18 – the punishment would be “two years imprisonment.”
This bill would apply to people having spiritual conversations with Israelis of any religion.
However, in their official explanation of the bill, the two Israeli legislators specifically emphasized the warning to stop Christians, in particular.
The bill’s primary objective, therefore, appears to be making it illegal for followers of Jesus (“Yeshua” in Hebrew) to explain why they believe that Jesus is both Messiah and God with the hope that Israelis might consider following Him.
The bill does not only make a simple personal conversation about Jesus with another individual a crime.
It would also make it illegal for “someone who solicits a person – directly, digitally, by mail or online – in order to convert his religion.”
Thus, producing and publishing online videos explaining the Gospel to Jewish or Muslim people in Israel – and to those of any other religious faiths – would suddenly become illegal.
Publishing books, other printed literature, online articles, podcasts, or other forms of media that explains the life and ministry of Jesus and His message found in the New Testament would also become illegal.
So would discussing the Gospel message via email, text messages, written letters and/or on social media, including answering questions initiated by people who don’t follow Jesus.
All Israel News has the full text of the bill. Source
TO MY JEWISH PEOPLE:
HOW CAN I BE SAVED? YES…..YOU NEED YESHUA TO BE SAVED and I would gladly go to prison for saying this!
